World Junior Speedway Championship
World Junior Speedway: Preview - FIM World Junior Championship Semi-Final, Rye House, 15 June 2008.
By Admin
Jun 8, 2008, 15:45

We are now less than a week away from the biggest meeting ever to be staged at Rye House: the FIM World Junior (U-21) Championship Semi-Final, which is being held on Sunday, June 15th.

17 year old Rocket Tai Woffinden, who currently holds the British U-21, U-18 and CLRC titles, faces the biggest meeting of his own career as he aims to qualify for the World Final to be staged at Pardubice in the Czech Republic on September 7th. To do so, he must achieve a top eight finish in a field filled with potential winners of this championship.

One of those is Chris Holder. The 20 year old, who claimed the Silver medal in this event in 2007, has one last shot at the gold before passing the age limit, and is determined to make it count. A Poole Pirate in the Elite League, he is also the Australian senior national champion and the current – and now four-time - U-21 titlist.

Also set to feature prominently on Sunday are Troy Batchelor and Morten Risager. Both are also Elite League stars, with Batchelor a key man for title-chasing Swindon and determined to make up for the broken collarbone that ruled him out of last year’s semi-final, while Peterborough’s Risager is a former European U-19 Bronze medallist.

While Tai Woffinden stands just five rides away from a potential World Final, so too do two other Brits. Edinburgh’s William Lawson finished just one point away from a run-off at this stage last year and is a former British U-18 champion. So, too, is Lewis Bridger of Eastbourne, who has already reached The Big Day, placing 10th in the Final last year. A further Brit, Josh Auty, is waiting in the wings as one of the two meeting reserves.

Eastbourne’s 18 year old Simon Gustafsson, meanwhile, is already a four point rider in his first season of British top-flight racing. He will be joined by two other highly rated Swedes in Linus Eklöf and Ludvig Lindgren, who is the younger brother of Grand Prix star Freddie Lindgren.
All three played key parts in their country’s European U-19 Team win last month, while a fourth Swede, Kim Nilsson, also cannot be rule out of Sunday’s equation. Now 18, he made his Swedish Elite League debut at just 16, and is the son of former international star Tommy Nilsson.

There are three Poles in Sunday’s field. Robert Kasprzak is the younger brother of 2005 World U-21 Champion Krzysztof Kasprzak, and won the Norden round with 14 points to make his own title intentions clear, while Mateusz Sczepaniak collected an U-21 World Cup gold medal in 2007, the same year that Grzegorz Zengota finished second in the Polish Silver Helmet event.

Completing Sunday’s line-up are German U-21 Champion Tobias Busch, compatriot Max Dilger and American U-21 titlist Ricky Wells, who also won Asia’s first ever officially sanctioned meeting by taking the Malaysian International Speedway Cup in Kula Lumpur last year. 

The meeting starts at 2pm. (Please note that the gates will now open at 11.30, which is earlier than the 12 noon time previously advertised.)

Admission prices are: adults £15, seniors £12, children FREE. The souvenir programme will be £3.

The official practice session will be held between 1pm and 3pm on Saturday, June 14th. The public will be admitted to this event, at £5 for adults with children going FREE. The following day’s meeting programme will be available to buy, and spectators will also receive a £1 discount off the meeting admission. (Gates open at noon.)

Meeting draw:
1. Linus Eklof (Sweden), 2. Max Dilger (Germany), 3. Chris Holder (Australia), 4. Robert Kasprzak (Poland), 5. Kim Nilsson (Sweden), 6. William Lawson (Great Britain), 7. Lewis Bridger (Great Britain), 8. Tobias Busch (Germany), 9. Ricky Wells (USA), 10. Mateusz Szczepaniak (Poland), 11. Simon Gustafsson (Sweden), 12. Tai Woffinden (Great Britain), 13. Troy Batchelor (Australia), 14. Grzegorz Zengota (Poland), 15. Morten Risager (Denmark), 16. Ludvig Lindgren (Sweden).

Reserves: Josh Auty (Great Britain) and Leon Madsen (Denmark)